11051500 SANTA ANA RIVER NEAR MENTONE, CA
LOCATION.-Lat 34°06'30", long 117°05'59", in SW 1/4 SW 1/4 sec.4, T.1 S., R.2 W., San Bernardino
County, Hydrologic Unit 18070203, on right bank, near mouth of canyon, 1.6 mi upstream from Mill Creek, 3.2 mi
northeast of Mentone, and 16 mi downstream from Big Bear Lake.
DRAINAGE AREA.-210 mi2, including area tributary to Baldwin Lake at head of Bear Valley.
WATER-DISCHARGE RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD.-July 1896 to current year. Prior to October 1914, records for river only not equivalent owing
to Greenspot pipeline diversion between sites and exclusion of discharge from Warm Springs Canyon. Monthly
discharge only for January 1910, January and February 1916 published in WSP 1315-B.
REVISED RECORDS.-WSP 931: 1940. WSP 1635: 1918, 1920(M), 1922, 1937, 1943(M). WSP 1928: Drainage area. WSP 2128:
1910.
GAGE.-Three water-stage recorders. Main gage on right bank of river (station 11051499), canal gage on powerplant
diversion (station 11049500), and since 1970, supplementary gage on left bank of river (station 11051502).
Elevation of the main and supplementary gages is 1,950 ft above sea level, from topographic map. Prior to Sept.
2, 1917, nonrecording gages at several sites within 1.5 mi upstream at various datums. Sept. 3, 1917, to May 27,
1969, water-stage recorder at site 0.2 mi upstream at different datum. Canal gage at different datum.
REMARKS.-Records fair except for estimated daily discharges, which are poor. Flow partly regulated by Big Bear
Lake (station 11049000). The supplementary gage (station 11051502) measures water that is occasionally diverted
out of the main channel 250 ft upstream for water distribution. Flow measured by the supplementary gage is
included with the river record to maintain equivalence with records prior to 1970. For records of combined
discharge of Santa Ana River and Southern California Edison Co.'s Canal below Powerplant No. 2 (station
11049500), which diverts upstream from station, see station 11051501. Prior to Oct. 1, 1952, and since Apr. 26,
1976, Bear Valley Mutual Water Co. pumps water into channel above canal gage. See schematic diagram of Santa Ana
River Basin.
COOPERATION.-Records for Southern California Edison Co.'s Canal near Mentone (station 11049500) were provided by
Southern California Edison Co., under general supervision of the U.S. Geological Survey, in connection with a
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission project.
EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD.-River only: Maximum discharge, 52,300 ft3/s, Mar. 2, 1938, gage height,
14.3 ft, site and datum then in use, on basis of slope-area measurement of peak flow; no flow at times in some
years.
Combined river and canal: Maximum discharge, 52,300 ft3/s, Mar. 2, 1938; minimum daily, 5.3
ft3/s, July 22, 1990.
EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD.-Combined river and canal: Flood of Feb. 23, 1891, 53,700 ft3/s,
from notes provided by F.C. Finkle, consulting engineer, Los Angeles.
DISCHARGE, CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, WATER YEAR OCTOBER 1998 TO SEPTEMBER 1999
DAILY MEAN VALUES
DAY OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
1 8.9 e56 e61 e50 52 34 11 52 e11 e2.4 e2.5 e4.2
2 8.2 e56 e61 e49 49 33 11 52 e18 e2.1 e2.9 e2.0
3 8.3 e57 e56 e49 48 35 11 40 e16 e2.1 e2.9 e1.4
4 8.7 e57 e60 e49 50 32 12 20 e20 e2.0 e3.5 e1.7
5 9.1 e55 e60 e50 55 35 11 30 e16 e1.9 e3.0 e1.6
6 8.5 e54 e63 e51 55 34 14 19 e13 e1.7 e3.0 e1.6
7 6.6 e50 e49 e49 54 34 22 11 e11 e1.8 e3.4 e1.6
8 5.9 e62 e55 e48 50 34 16 21 e11 e7.4 e3.3 e3.8
9 6.7 e70 e54 e47 52 34 19 21 e15 e28 e3.6 e3.8
10 6.4 e71 e40 e47 72 34 15 20 e6.8 e20 e4.4 e2.8
11 6.8 e64 e51 e46 57 37 16 18 e7.1 e25 e3.3 e2.2
12 7.5 e58 e53 e46 53 34 36 32 e6.1 59 e3.0 e2.1
13 9.1 e60 e52 44 50 34 29 29 e7.9 41 e2.9 e3.8
14 e8.8 e60 e54 44 48 34 38 e25 e4.6 e30 e2.9 e5.2
15 e12 e59 e52 44 47 37 58 e16 e3.5 e18 e2.9 e3.5
16 e48 e60 e51 44 45 35 52 e15 e12 e14 e2.9 e2.9
17 e56 e59 e51 44 44 36 37 e14 e22 e13 e3.5 e1.8
18 e55 e61 e51 44 42 34 36 e11 e21 e11 e3.3 e1.8
19 e58 e60 e51 44 31 33 28 e19 e14 e10 e3.2 e1.8
20 e57 e61 e50 48 13 33 15 e20 e13 e7.5 e2.9 e1.5
21 e64 e61 e50 50 12 33 11 e13 e8.5 e5.2 e5.1 e1.7
22 e58 e61 e48 e49 12 32 12 e23 e13 e4.1 e3.0 e1.7
23 e50 e61 e46 e50 11 26 15 e29 e6.6 e2.5 e3.5 e1.3
24 e48 e61 e47 e49 11 11 37 e16 e2.9 e2.4 e5.0 1.9
25 e48 e62 e49 51 28 11 35 e15 e3.3 e2.4 e5.9 1.8
26 e60 e61 e51 54 41 10 32 e14 e6.8 e2.4 e3.8 1.8
27 e58 e60 e50 54 36 10 24 e14 e7.1 e2.7 e5.7 e.75
28 e57 e76 e50 50 36 10 7.4 e13 e7.4 e2.7 e2.7 e.00
29 e53 e73 e49 51 --- 9.6 34 e12 e6.1 e2.9 e2.9 e.00
30 e59 e64 e50 47 --- 9.5 52 e12 e4.3 e2.8 e2.7 e.00
31 e57 --- e50 52 --- 9.9 --- e11 --- e7.4 e3.6 ---
TOTAL 1007.5 1830 1615 1494 1154 858.0 746.4 657 315.0 335.4 107.2 62.05
MEAN 32.5 61.0 52.1 48.2 41.2 27.7 24.9 21.2 10.5 10.8 3.46 2.07
MAX 64 76 63 54 72 37 58 52 22 59 5.9 5.2
MIN 5.9 50 40 44 11 9.5 7.4 11 2.9 1.7 2.5 .00
AC-FT 2000 3630 3200 2960 2290 1700 1480 1300 625 665 213 123
e Estimated.
STATISTICS OF MONTHLY MEAN DATA FOR WATER YEARS 1915 - 1999, BY WATER YEAR (WY)
OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
MEAN 5.07 9.24 25.8 42.4 83.2 95.9 64.4 49.6 22.2 11.8 6.49 6.60
MAX 77.8 206 536 646 1052 1405 413 446 278 174 124 134
(WY) 1970 1966 1967 1993 1980 1938 1969 1998 1969 1969 1969 1969
MIN .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
(WY) 1934 1934 1949 1936 1961 1951 1959 1959 1959 1934 1934 1933
SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR 1998 CALENDAR YEAR FOR 1999 WATER YEAR WATER YEARS 1915 - 1999
ANNUAL TOTAL 44268.2 10181.55
ANNUAL MEAN 121 27.9 33.8
HIGHEST ANNUAL MEAN 283 1969
LOWEST ANNUAL MEAN .012 1961
HIGHEST DAILY MEAN 1330 Feb 24 76 Nov 28 15500 Mar 2
1938
LOWEST DAILY MEAN 2.1 Jan 1 .00 Sep 28 .00 Nov 21
1932
ANNUAL SEVEN-DAY MINIMUM 2.3 Jan 1 .89 Sep 24 .00 Nov 21
1932
INSTANTANEOUS PEAK FLOW 149 Feb 18 52300 Mar 2
1938
INSTANTANEOUS PEAK STAGE 14.30 Mar 2
1938
ANNUAL RUNOFF (AC-FT) 87810 20200 24500
10 PERCENT EXCEEDS 289 58 75
50 PERCENT EXCEEDS 65 22 1.9
90 PERCENT EXCEEDS 9.1 2.7 .00
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